Automated highway system for controlling the operating parameters of a vehicle

Abstract

An automated highway system reduces the data processing requirements on the vehicles and distributes the processing requirements throughout the automated highway system infra-structure. In this system, a vehicle is detected by use of a vehicle on-board transponder. This transponder responds to an omni-directional radio frequency transmission from a highway control facility used by the automated highway system in the vicinity of the vehicle. The highway control facility interrogates the vehicle transponder for identification, destination, and other pertinent travel parameters or user services to route the vehicle, schedule maintenance, provide user services, and so on. Additionally, the highway control facility calculates the location of the vehicle and energizes vehicle mounted actuators to steer, accelerate and brake the vehicle as necessary. The vehicle maintains constant communications with the automated highway system facilities while on the automated highway system highway. The highway control facility maintains a record of the vehicle as it proceeds along the highway by handing the record to the next adjacent highway control facility. The vehicle has a user interface whereby the vehicle's occupant can be informed of road, weather, traffic conditions, other user services, and the user interface unit can communicate through the user vehicle transponder to the highway control facility of a change of travel schedule, change of destination, or other parameter changes. The user interface unit permits communication by voice (microphone and loudspeaker), keypad, and CRT.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An automated highway system for controlling the operation of a plurality of vehicles travelling thereon, each vehicle carrying an active transponder thereon, comprising: a plurality of transmitters for supplying signals to a transponder carried by one of the vehicles;   a plurality of receivers for receiving signals produced by the transponder carried by one of the vehicles;   processing means connected to said plurality of transmitters and to said plurality of receivers, for determining a longitudinal and lateral position of one or more of the vehicles, wherein each of the vehicles includes actuators for controlling vehicle operating parameters, wherein said vehicle operating parameters include steering and speed, and wherein said processing means supplies control signals via said plurality of transmitters to said actuators.   
     
     
       2. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing means contains a stored map, and maintains a location of each of the vehicles on said map. 
     
     
       3. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing means keeps records of individual ones of the vehicles and schedules maintenance for each vehicle, tests vehicle response to commands, and adjusts vehicle spacing accordingly. 
     
     
       4. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said processing means comprises redundant distributed architecture communicating via a network. 
     
     
       5. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said network has multiple communication modes. 
     
     
       6. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 1, wherein communication between said plurality of transmitters and receivers and with the vehicle transponder is by rf burst transmission. 
     
     
       7. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle transponders include a transponder processing means for performing communication, decoding and encoding commands, and for controlling the actuators to control the path and velocity of the vehicle. 
     
     
       8. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said transponder processing means is updated at short time periods by said plurality of transmitters, in order to ensure smooth transmissions and mechanically integrated control of steering, acceleration, and braking. 
     
     
       9. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a user interface carried on each vehicle to enable a vehicle operator to select a route to be traveled, a destination, and to perform communications. 
     
     
       10. An automated highway system for controlling the operation of a plurality of vehicles travelling thereon, comprising: a plurality of active transponders each carried on a respective one of the vehicles;   a plurality of transmitters for supplying signals to a transponder carried by one of the vehicles;   a plurality of receivers for receiving signals produced by the transponder carried by one of the vehicles;   processing means connected to said plurality of transmitters an to said plurality of receivers, for determining a longitudinal and lateral position of one or more of the vehicles, wherein each of the vehicles includes actuators for controlling vehicle operating parameters, wherein said vehicle operating parameters include steering and speed, and wherein said processing means supplies control signals via said plurality of transmitters to said actuators.   
     
     
       11. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said processing means contains a stored map, and maintains a location of each of the vehicles on said map. 
     
     
       12. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said processing means keeps records of individual ones of the vehicles and schedules maintenance for each vehicle, tests vehicle response to commands, and adjusts vehicle spacing accordingly. 
     
     
       13. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said processing means comprises redundant distributed architecture communicating via a network. 
     
     
       14. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 13, wherein said network has multiple communication modes. 
     
     
       15. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 10, wherein communication between said plurality of transmitters and receivers and with the vehicle transponder is by rf burst transmission. 
     
     
       16. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the vehicle transponders include a transponder processing means for performing communication, decoding and encoding commands, and for controlling the actuators to control the path and velocity of the vehicle. 
     
     
       17. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said transponder processing means is updated at short time periods by said plurality of transmitters, in order to ensure smooth transmissions and mechanically integrated control of steering, acceleration, and braking. 
     
     
       18. An automated highway system as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a user interface carried on each vehicle to enable a vehicle operator to select a route to be traveled, a destination, and to perform communications.